Oak & Iron: Core Box

If you are interested in a SQUADRON level “wooden ships and iron men” era game this will not disappoint. Understand that if you are looking for a game that goes into each ship’s sail setting, minute heading, cannon loads, etc, then this game is not for you. You are taking the roll of the commander of the squadron, as such, the sail settings (other than battle sails and full sails) and load outs are not your concern. You are overseeing the battle and leaving that to your individual “captains”. Game play can be fairly quick depending on the number of ships you have per side (and scenario) lasting from a bit over an hour to maybe 3 or more. The cards and tokens are nice and sturdy and look good as well. The ships bases are transparent which is a nice touch if you are using a good sea mat as a playing field (makes it look like the ships are actually sailing on the “water”). The ships themselves are molded plastic in brown for the hulls and white for the sails. This is the only area I can ding the game on. The sails are made to be robust, which is a good thing. But, the masts and sails are very thick. It just looks off. Fitting the multiple sloop sails together can be a real pain. (They never actually stayed together) One thing I can say about Firelock games, their customer service is top notch. I had an incorrect ship part in my box set. Dropped FL a line and it was replaced immediately. Great guys down there.

If you are interested in a SQUADRON level “wooden ships and iron men” era game this will not disappoint. Understand that if you are looking for a game that goes into each ship’s sail setting, minute heading, cannon loads, etc, then this game is not for you. You are taking the roll of the commander of the squadron, as such, the sail settings (other than battle sails and full sails) and load outs are not your concern. You are overseeing the battle and leaving that to your individual “captains”. Game play can be fairly quick depending on the number of ships you have per side (and scenario) lasting from a bit over an hour to maybe 3 or more. The cards and tokens are nice and sturdy and look good as well. The ships bases are transparent which is a nice touch if you are using a good sea mat as a playing field (makes it look like the ships are actually sailing on the “water”). The ships themselves are molded plastic in brown for the hulls and white for the sails. This is the only area I can ding the game on. The sails are made to be robust, which is a good thing. But, the masts and sails are very thick. It just looks off. Fitting the multiple sloop sails together can be a real pain. (They never actually stayed together) One thing I can say about Firelock games, their customer service is top notch. I had an incorrect ship part in my box set. Dropped FL a line and it was replaced immediately. Great guys down there.

This is a quality imitation of naval combat between 1650-1750. What you get is several high quality miniatures, a good value for your money in the present market. These are easy to assemble and paint. The barrier to entry is low in every way. Once you have a basic core set, the learning scenario is effective at helping you understand the basic concepts of the game. Please note that the rulebook does its best to walk you through the logical sequence of a real game, but is not always organized in the best way possible, and you do spend some time going back to the rulebook to remember specific terminology and concepts. Since the dice have many different symbols, and different symbols represent successes for different checks, there's a slight barrier to learning this. I felt like I got up and running with the game after two learning scenarios. Oak and Iron features good support from the company's website, a facebook fan page where the game designer addresses player questions, and an active Discord channel where you can discuss the game, strategies, and now pick-up games on a port of the game to TableTop simulator. All in all, this looks like a game with a thriving community, strong support from its parent company, and a vision for where they go from here. Highly recommend. A+

This is a quality imitation of naval combat between 1650-1750. What you get is several high quality miniatures, a good value for your money in the present market. These are easy to assemble and paint. The barrier to entry is low in every way. Once you have a basic core set, the learning scenario is effective at helping you understand the basic concepts of the game. Please note that the rulebook does its best to walk you through the logical sequence of a real game, but is not always organized in the best way possible, and you do spend some time going back to the rulebook to remember specific terminology and concepts. Since the dice have many different symbols, and different symbols represent successes for different checks, there's a slight barrier to learning this. I felt like I got up and running with the game after two learning scenarios. Oak and Iron features good support from the company's website, a facebook fan page where the game designer addresses player questions, and an active Discord channel where you can discuss the game, strategies, and now pick-up games on a port of the game to TableTop simulator. All in all, this looks like a game with a thriving community, strong support from its parent company, and a vision for where they go from here. Highly recommend. A+